Building a better TH700R4: Parts and knowledge exist to make them really strong - but it look some serious searching

摘要

GM's small four-speed automatic has been both cursed and blessed. Its 0.70:1 overdrive ratio in top gear is the primary reason for the 700R4's popularity, but the 3 06:1 First gear also helps both on the highway and in trail use. Cussing of the 700 is usually a direct result of breakage, or because the lockup torque converter is acting up. It was never meant to be a very stout trans, but as we looked into the virtues of this four-speed juicebox in Four Wheeler's July '04 issue, we found that there are indeed several ways to make a 700R4 live, even in high-power applications. In the process, we kept digging deeper into the world of 700s and discovered several more things that can be done to the R4, as well as things that shouldn't be done For exam-ple,Team Ramco's "Flashman" Sharrar says that they can be built to withstand up to 850 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. In addition, we found that mixing parts from different transmissions seems to lead to all kinds of odd behavior, including weird shift points and gear selectability in general.